Lunar Lullaby
by mythweaver1
Summary: FFIV. Edge finds the moon to be a harsh and unforgiving place, somewhere he'll never be able to find rest or comfort. He discovers, unexpectedly, that Rydia feels the same way.


A/N: I told myself I wouldn't do this…write more Edge/Rydia fic while I had the ongoing saga of WoTC and other post-game fics in the works…but…I've had enough. I need more of this pairing in my life. And since so few of us write for these two I felt that I had to. I dug this out of a folder from 2008 and finally decided to finish it. So here you are—some fluff to brighten your day. This is also a little softer version of Edge than what I usually write…

**Edited 12/28/12**

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Lunar Lullaby

He would never be able to sleep here. It was one thing to fall asleep looking up at the moon, but another thing entirely to _be _on the moon. He knew some of the others felt it too—how strange it was to be crossing lunar ravines and scaling jagged plateaus with the earth hanging above them in the inky black of the heavens. They had been sleeping in caves for what must have been days while monsters that would put any of their blue planet counterparts to shame, roamed the landscape. At this rate, there was a greater chance of being eaten alive than putting an end to Zemus, and Edge wasn't fond of these odds at all.

He'd volunteered to take first watch and was sitting above the mouth of their cave for the evening. Not that there was much of a difference between night and day on the moon, he reflected. Cecil had simply declared it evening, and he had been too weary to argue the point.

Edge's perch was just near enough to watch the cave entrance, but far enough away to see for several miles outward. Admittedly, he found this entire place unnerving. There was an eerie calm that blanketed the moon—so different from home. There was nothing but ancient dust, crystalline and tawny, that sparkled in the reflected light of the sun. This was no place for a ninja, not for one who lurked in the dark of night or the shadows of trees. He missed having the wind hide the sound of his breathing and the soft rustle of grass muffle his footsteps. How could he be the quiet hunter, when the slightest noise echoed?

No sooner had he thought this, did he hear foot falls exiting the cave. It wasn't time for second watch, and he wondered who was awake beside himself. It was Rydia who emerged, green hair flowing down her back and long sleeves trailing at her sides. Even tousled from sleep, she was a vision of beauty—something she'd never believe if he were to tell her. He was tempted to call out to her, but for now she was blissfully unaware of his presence and he took advantage of the moment to watch her. She looked so vulnerable, standing on the ledge beside the cave that fell away to a steep ravine. She wrapped her arms around her waist, as she did whenever she was contemplating immediate worries and concerns. Still, he hoped she would include him in her musings every now and again. Not that she ever would, he realized with a pang of regret—not to him, anyway.

She was a fiery thing, for all her aversion to flames; but standing as she was on the precipice, she looked almost peaceful. Then the moment had passed, and she'd looked up and spied him on his perch. Her expression flipped between surprise, annoyance, and curiosity at realizing she hadn't been alone.

Edge smiled at her through his mask in an attempt to be disarming, and she frowned in response, but started searching for a way to reach him nonetheless. It took her a while to find all the necessary footholds, but eventually she was sitting beside him, out of breath and brushing dust off of her clothing.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked lightly, admiring how her long fingers skillfully tucked a lock of hair behind one ear.

She looked out across the ravine for a moment before meeting his gaze. "Too many thoughts keeping me awake," she admitted with a sigh.

"Any of them good thoughts?" he inquired with a playful tone he reserved especially for her.

Her sideways glance had become rather piercing and Edge laughed. "Not about you, I can assure you," she answered tartly.

His smile widened, and she responded with a small sly smile of her own. They were like that, the two of them. Always sparring, always sharp, but never completely lacking in humor. It lasted for only a second and then her expression changed, became thoughtful. "Do you really think we'll be able to win against Zemus?" her voice was so soft he barely heard it.

He looked at her, how her eyes were searching his. She wanted affirmation and he wished he could give it to her. The blue of her eyes was startling, he noticed, as he struggled to think of an answer that would satisfy her.

Finally, she looked away, disheartened. "So I'm the only one who's worried," she mused.

He saw how her lip quivered and heard the catch in her voice as she said it, and his heart lurched in painfully unexpected ways.

"We've come this far," he tried to assure her.

"But we're only human," she replied.

He frowned, considering what next to say, and decided instead to pull his mask away from his face. Rydia looked at him, startled.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"I'm not toying with you, Rydia," he told her honestly. "No masks."

She tilted her head to the side, studying him.

He was used to hiding emotion, hiding fear especially, but for her he decided he'd make an exception. "We're all scared, Rydia," he admitted reluctantly. "But no one has ever set out to do what we've done. Look where we are," he said, pointing to the moonscape around them. "The five of us have beaten foes well beyond ourselves and traveled distances our people back home would never have believed was possible. I think that counts for something."

There was a shimmer of tears in her eyes, but he could tell she was trying her hardest to master her emotions. "This coming from you," she said a little wryly. "The man who was convinced he could take on the whole world by himself."

"Maybe half the world," he amended with a reassuring smile.

She grinned at that, and then looked at him earnestly. "Do you think we'll be able to make any difference against a Lunarian so powerful?" she asked. "What if one of us—" she started and trailed off, turning away to brush tears from her cheeks that she was too embarrassed to show.

And that sealed it. She was treading in dangerous water with thoughts like those, and Edge wouldn't have it. Seeing her this vulnerable, he rose to his knees, and closed the distance between them. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, he pulled her tight. It was closer than they'd ever been, and she was so startled, she stiffened at the contact. Edge's mind was screaming warnings at him—he had taken too much of a liberty too soon—but he knew words were no good for such a situation as this. She needed to be reassured that she wasn't alone, and quite frankly, so did he.

She slowly relaxed, allowing her head to rest against his shoulder, and let out a sigh akin to a sob.

He held onto her as if she were his anchor to reality, and she likewise didn't pull away.

Several minutes passed, and they had swiftly gone beyond the point of simple comfort, to the realm of uncertain affection. It was then that Edge realized he didn't _want_ to let her go as he had become familiar with how she nestled against his arm, or how her weight felt against his shoulder. She was such a slip of a thing, but with so much life and vivacity that he almost couldn't believe she was letting him remain this close.

This he could get used to—her warmth, her scent. She was one thing he could be sure was real in a place so alien. Edge could tell when she finally let go the last of her reservations and allowed herself to lean fully into him, shifting so that her head rested against his quickly beating heart. He kept his hand firmly planted on her shoulder, though the temptation to stroke her hair was difficult to resist. He didn't want to overstep the fine boundary they had already established. Not now.

"Edge?" she asked after several minutes of silence.

He hummed a response, afraid that anything he said would ruin this newfound comfort.

"Can we—" she began, then paused, thinking about what she was asking. "Could we just stay like this? For a while, I mean?" she finally requested.

He craned his head down so that his chin rested on top of her curls.

"Of course," he said softly, bringing his other hand to her cheek to stroke away tears he knew had fallen. "You should try to sleep," he advised, remembering why she'd ventured out of the cave in the first place. "I'll keep watch."

"But I'm supposed to take second watch," she protested, lifting her head to look at him.

He pressed her head back to his chest and laughed quietly against her hair. "I wasn't planning on sleeping anyway," he assured her.

And he hadn't, that much was true. But at least now he wouldn't be alone, and at least the moon had offered him this rare gift. As Rydia curled up against him and her breathing deepened as she drifted off to sleep, he decided that perhaps this wasn't such a harsh place after all.

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Thanks for reading!

Show love with reviews :)

~myth


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